Royal Caribbean Stops Exemption to Drink Package

Many people recently have noticed a new change to the policy regarding the drink package for Royal Caribbean cruises. While the change is more about the enforcement of the drink package policy, many guests have been on the receiving end of the new rule.

To get a drink package, the policy is that everyone in the stateroom must get the drink package, except kiddos obviously. Before you could contact customer services and request that only one person purchase the package if you had reason enough to make such a request. The prime example is that you may be traveling with someone who is sober, so requesting that only the non-sober guest purchase the drink package was something Royal Caribbean was willing to allow.

However, with all well intentioned exceptions, those who do not need them will use them as loop holes and that is exactly what has happened. Cruise Hive reached out to Royal Caribbean and it was confirmed that the change is due to guests taking advantage of the exception and sharing the drink package. The change in enforcement took effect on August 1, 2025. 

Those that used the exemption as a loop hole are looking to save some money on their cruise. Drink packages can be expensive and if you could cover two people for the price of one then the math is kind of obvious. Depending on how many nights your cruise is, you could save hundreds if not up to thousands of dollars by just purchasing one package and illegally sharing it.

It is worth pointing out that it is possible to save on drinks without cheating the system. Many times people who use the drink page don’t use its full value and probably don’t need it in the first place. It could be cheaper to just buy drinks ad hoc. For a 7 night cruise a drink package could cost as much as $1,610. Cocktails on the ship cost anywhere from $10 to $14, and beer is $8.25. That is 161 to 115 cocktails, or 195 beers. Calculating that further is 23-16 cocktails a day, or 27 beers a day. Even between two people you may not be drinking that much and thus do not need the drink package. 

More ways to keep costs low are the cocktails of the day that are offered at lower prices. These drinks change daily and are pretty delicious. You can also keep an eye out for the pre-cruise sales on the drink packages, which can sometimes reach up to 50% off. Planning ahead can really pay off. 

Don’t forget, you are also allowed one 750ml bottle of wine when you embark on the cruise, or a 12 pack of soda.